The Merz Doctrine, and the Cost of Strategic Adulthood This article first appeared on https://rjaura.substack.com By Ramesh Jaura* BERLIN | 1 March 2026 (IDN) — For nearly eight decades, Europe thrived under the sturdy canopy of a security order that felt immovable. The United States was the bedrock of NATO, its power a shield against […]
Iran Crisis Exposes the Impotence of America’s Neoliberal War Machine
By Nicolas J. S. Davies* NEW YORK | 20 February 2026 (IDN) — After some delays, the United States is dispatching a second aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, from the Caribbean to the Middle East to join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and threaten Iran. This is the third Atlantic crossing […]
After New START: Ban the Bomb
Why nuclear abolition must replace deterrence and treaty illusion By Ramesh Jaura* This article first appeared on rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 14 February 2026 (IDN) — The New START treaty expired on 4 February 2026, marking what many see as a dangerous shift in global security. The last accord limiting U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals—together nearly 90 […]
Will Trump Break International Law Over Iran?
By Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden | 10 February 2026 (IDN) — We are heading toward a potential collision between President Donald Trump and international law. Anyone listening carefully to his rhetoric about Iran and its alleged nuclear weapons programme can sense it coming. Trump has spoken in tones I would describe as “fire and brimstone.” That […]
The New START Treaty Expired — Ending Nuclear Restraint
By Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK | 7 February 2026 (IDN) — On 5 February 2026, the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty)—the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and Russia—expired. For the first time since 1972, there are no legally binding limits on strategic nuclear weapons between Washington and Moscow. This marks […]
One More Step Towards Nuclear Obliteration?
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 3 February 2026 (IDN) — Nuclear arms control is close to collapse. On Wednesday, February 4, the so-called New START Treaty, signed in 2011 by the United States and Russia, expires. It capped long-range strategic nuclear warheads at roughly 1,500 each—a dramatic reduction from Cold War levels. Even so, today’s […]
Hiroshima Takes Centre Stage Again
Time for Peace, Dialogue and Nuclear Disarmament By Ramesh Jaura This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 24 November 2025 (IDN) — At a moment of rising nuclear danger, scientists, diplomats, and a global Buddhist community converged on Hiroshima and Tokyo in search of a different future for humanity. From 1 to 5 […]
Naval Nuclear Propulsion: A Two-Track Solution for IAEA Safeguards Integrity
By Tariq Rauf* VIENNA | 19 November 2025 (IDN) — More than four years have elapsed since the matter of the proliferation of nuclear-powered submarines reemerged after a gap of nearly four decades to place the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) squarely in the cross-hairs of a serious policy and legal conundrum. It also highlighted […]
Trump, Deterrence, and the Erosion of Nuclear Restraint
By Ramesh Jaura* This article was first published on https://rjaura.substack.com BERLIN | 16 November 2025 (IDN) — Ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on 30 October at Gimhae International Airport in Busan, South Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump declared he had ordered the resumption of U.S. nuclear testing. His statement shattered more […]
Israel’s Secret Cache of Nuclear Weapons
By Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden | 4 November 2025 (IDN) —The story of Israel’s nuclear bomb is rarely told. Yet we hear a lot about the possible Iranian bomb and the dangerous bombs of Pakistan that militant Islamists might seize—although that is unlikely, given that the U.S. has supplied state-of-the-art locks to Pakistan. And then […]